Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you have the urge to hear an average score accented by a rare song adaptation of a Jerry Goldsmith theme, as performed by the Cowboy Junkies. Avoid it... if the superior and more mature versions of this score as heard in Medicine Man and The Edge don't interest you. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The River Wild: (Jerry Goldsmith) While the collaboration between composer Jerry Goldsmith and director Curtis Hanson would be best known for yielding the popular L.A. Confidential several years later, their work together began with The River Wild in 1994. If the classic film Deliverance was the guys' late-night, squeal-like-a-pig version of the "city folk go into nature only to discover that man is the true enemy" formula, then The River Wild is the somewhat family friendly mid-day interpretation of the same idea. Instead of Appalachia, the scene this time is Montana, where a former river guide from the area (Meryl Streep) takes her now city-dwelling family on a rafting vacation to her old haunts. Lucky for them, three goons get into another raft and follow the family like a group of predators. Eventually there are hostages, unbelievable and frustrating twists of plot, and ultimately, of course, the need to run the Gauntlet, a particularly nasty portion of river that only professionals can navigate. Then again, if you're going to rid yourself of those pesky badguys, led by Kevin Bacon, then you'll need to provide the audience with that inevitable feat. Despite the film's gorgeous scenery and a heady performance by Streep, the holes and stretches in the plotline doomed the picture. Unable to save the day this time was Goldsmith, who would provide similar, but more compelling music for the outdoors in both Medicine Man and The Edge in the mid-1990's. Understandably, for the purposes of this plot, Goldsmith would be required to write a sensitive theme for the family, and use it to bookend the moments of tension in the middle and later portions of the picture. To popularize the film, the light rock/country group "Cowboy Junkies" was brought in to arrange and perform Goldsmith's main theme in a move that was starting to become typical of studio mentality in the 1990's. Ironically, the vocal performances in the case of The River Wild aren't the reason for the score and album's relative unpopularity. There is nothing structurally wrong with Goldsmith's score for The River Wild, but problems with it arise because collectors of the composer recognize that he has produced far superior variations of every aspect of this score in other projects. The primary theme for the family is the usual flute and string-based affair with a light heart and a solo trumpet performance at the end of the film when the heroes escape. It has the sentiment of Rudy and Matinee rolled into a predictable, soft package and leaves little in merit to discuss. Goldsmith abandons the theme as the score progresses towards its suspense motif, which itself is also lacking of particularly interesting structure compared to similar ideas that would mature in The Edge. He creates suspense with short bursts of rhythm in brass following by extended whole notes, and without any unique instrumentation, the process becomes tiresome after just a few minutes. In "Little Niagra," however, Goldsmith does allow the blasts to succeed with similar effectiveness to Michael Kamen's climax to Die Hard, but once again without particularly interesting instrumentation. Perhaps it's fitting that Goldsmith decided not to score 'nature' itself to the same degree he would do in The Edge, but then again, he didn't tackle the malevolence of the evil humans with the same electronic bombast that he used so effectively in Medicine Man either. Overall, Goldsmith was flat with this one. There remains one controversial issue, however, and that involves the Cowboy Junkies. Goldsmith wrote over an hour of music for this film and the Junkies occupy two tracks on the 39-minute album. While many Goldsmith collectors consider their light guitar, electric bass, harmonica, percussion, and vocals an unnecessary distraction, it is actually their presence that distinguishes The River Wild beyond a minimal level. Keep in mind that the song, "The Water is Wide," is Michael Timmins' adaptation of Goldsmith's theme --not vice versa-- and this is a rare event for Goldsmith. The song, with Margo Timmins' soft, inviting vocals, fits well with Goldsmith's family theme, and the mixing of the song edit and the orchestral ensemble in the final cue is very well arranged. With the superb transitions between orchestra and song in that end titles track, the album is recommended to Goldsmith collectors who can spare a few extra dollars despite low expectations. *** Track Listings:
Total Time: 38:57
* Performed by Cowboy Junkies ** Contains segment performed by Cowboy Junkies All artwork and sound clips from The River Wild are Copyright © 1994, BMG Music/RCA Victor. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 5/31/98, updated 3/12/05. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1998-2005, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
